let us die together in the arms of this dark, dead world
by SHSL Slacker
Summary: Matoi Ryuko used to be unbreakable, right until the moment when she wasn't. Ryumako Madoka AU with some Satsunon.


**Bad end? Good end? We'll never know.**

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"Ryuko-chan! Ryuko-cha - ah!" Mako dives out of the way, stumbling slightly as the malformed witch launches itself at her. Its arm gets stuck in the ground and it makes a gurgling noise that sounds somewhat irritated. Mako backs away from the witch slightly, standing her ground. "Ryuko-chan, listen to me! I know you're still in there!"

The witch - _green skin and bloody all over and I'm so scared but no, I have to help Ryuko-chan now_ - snarls, wrenches its arm from the ground, and lunges at the brunette, opening her mouth for a frighteningly feral roar. Mako cries and jumps to the side, tripping over something that looks like - _Ryuko-chan's Scissor Blade that she brought everywhere, I... I..._

She's too distracted by the blood red Scissor Blade and doesn't see the large red hand coming towards her until she looks up. Mako screams one last _RYUKO-CHAN_ before a blast of sound waves smashes against Ryuko's witch and sends her flying to the other side of her labyrinth.

"Jakuzure-sempai, Satsuki-sama!" Mako gasps, clutching the Scissor Blade to her chest as she unsteadily rises to her feet. "How did you-"

"No time to talk, Mankanshoku," Satsuki says sternly. She raises an eyebrow over at the weapon Mako holds. "Isn't that Ryuko's-"

"Hah?! Isn't that..." Nonon squints over at the figure slowly getting up. "What?! That's your sis, Satsuki-sama!"

"**What.**" Within seconds, Satsuki's by Nonon's side, staring incredulously at the witch that did somehow vaguely resemble her younger sister. "No... what is...?" She looks back at Mako, demanding an explanation.

"Ryuko-chan..." Mako cries. "Ryuko-chan turned into a witch...!"

"_What?!_" Satsuki and Nonon cry out in perfect synchronization. The black-haired girl looks over at the witch, who starts rapidly advancing on them. "Tch! Mankanshoku, Nonon, get out of the way!"

Nonon drags Mako to the opposite direction of the witch, despite Mako's sobs, leaving Satsuki to take care of the witch herself. Mako's grip on the Scissor Blade never loosens, not until Nonon's led her to a hidden area of the labyrinth, where Mako breaks out into incoherent sobs and the Scissor Blade clanging to the floor.

"What happened back there, underachiever?!" Nonon asks, trying to calm herself down. It isn't working, to say the least.

The brunette's sobs get worse, but Nonon can catch the words "Ryuko-chan", "witch", "despair", and "Kyubey". Nonon balls her hands into fists, tempted to punch something, but decides to take her anger out on the familiars starting to surround them. They look like sailor uniforms or something - Nonon can't tell, because she's too busy firing sound waves and beating them over the head with her baton to care.

With Satsuki, she can't really believe that this witch is - _was_, really, her younger sister. The battle style is somewhat less... human, shall we say, and while the attacks are stronger, they're completely random and unplanned. Satsuki is having far more trouble than she should be.

The witch lets out an inhumane screech and pounces on Satsuki too fast even for her reflexes and digs its claws into her skin. Satsuki bites her lip hard enough to draw blood, trying not to scream from the pain. The witch spits and hisses, its saliva dripping onto Satsuki's face and leaving a burning sensation on her cheeks.

The black-haired girl summons enough strength to push the witch off and leap back to her feet, ignoring the pain in her right arm as much as she can. She grips Bakuzan with both hands and launches towards the witch, who retaliates with its absolutely _gigantic_ arm, blocking Bakuzan with its arm and slowly pushing Satsuki backwards. She grits her teeth and digs her heel into the ground, completely intent on not letting the witch get anywhere near Nonon and Mako.

It's not what she expects when the witch suddenly spits a pint of burning blood onto Satsuki's eye, causing the girl to cry in both pain and shock. The witch makes a sound that somewhat sounds like laughter - _cackling?_ - and forces itself onto Satsuki, clawing at her already injured right arm. This time, Satsuki does scream, but only because it's almost like she can feel the witch's claws dig into her bones and nearly tear off her arm.

It would've done that, too, if Nonon hadn't waved her baton and sent a flurry of pink sound waves towards it, pushing the witch off of Satsuki and causing it to tumble on the ground, coming to a stop just inches before a wall. It growls and attempts to stand up, but Nonon fires more and more sound waves towards it before the witch can barely even move. Satsuki stands, nears it, and murmurs an apology to her sister before slicing it in half with Bakuzan.

The witch - _no, Ryuko_ - gives out a final shriek before it fades into nothingness. A Grief Seed decorated with a single half of a scissor clatters to the charred floor. The place where Ryuko turned into a witch - her father's burnt house.

Mako is curled up into a fetal position, burying her face in her arms and sobbing her eyes out. Satsuki bends down to pick up the Grief Seed and glances at Nonon, who shakes her head instantly. The pinkette's Soul Gem is only a fourth tainted.

Hesitantly, Satsuki nears the brunette and taps her shoulder. Mako can barely bring herself to lift her head, but when she does, she sees the Grief Seed - _Ryuko's_ Grief Seed oh _God_ - and Satsuki's hand. "Take it. Save... Save it for when you really need it."

"S-S-Satsuki-sama..." Mako sniffs, wiping away some snot. "She's your s-s-sister, y-you keep it, right?"

"You're her girlfriend. _You_ keep it... right?"

Mako bursts out into a fresh round of sobs. Nonon flinches, and Satsuki bends down to place her hand on Mako's shoulder lightly.

* * *

It's when Mako's laying on the cold, wet ground, staring up at the black sky, Walpurgisnacht's laugh ringing somewhere in the distance that she brings out the Grief Seed she's never used and never will. She stares at it for a little, hearing the sound of Nonon crying and a thump of a body on the ground. Satsuki's desperate calling for the pinkette is only background noise for the brunette now.

"Ryuko-chan," Mako whispers, a tiny little smile appearing on her face. "See, I'll never be away from you, you know? I'll keep my promise. Even when I'm cold and dead and I'm nothing more but a witch... we're still gonna go out on that date and we're still gonna do all that fun stuff we said we'd do and-" Mako coughs, the breath lost in her lungs. She brings out her Soul Gem and stares at the dark clouding its usually clear blue and white surface. "Ah, I need a Grief Seed..."

_"Save it for when you really need it..."_

Mako giggles, a strange sound coming from a fallen magical girl. "I'm not gonna put my life before yours, Ryuko-chan, you know..." She places her Soul Gem back down on the soaked ground. "Let's be... together... forever..."

* * *

_Molly, the waiting witch. Her nature is loyalty. She constantly seeks out a being hidden deep within her labyrinth, but she cannot move from where she is. She cannot stop crying for whomever she is chasing for, and will do anything to get to that hidden area in her labyrinth. To defeat her, one must cut off the chains holding her down, for once she meets her loved one, she will be cut to pieces by a large half of a scissor._

_Ruth, the waiting witch's minion. Their duty is to seek. They attempt to look for the waiting witch's loved one, but they are blind and cannot think for themselves._

_Rufina, the waiting witch's minion. Their duty is to be sought after. They hide in several places. If the waiting witch finds them, they attack her with the large red scissor blades they always carry around with them, no matter what. They say if one tries to take the scissor blade away from them, the waiting witch will break free from her bonds and swallow you whole._

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***waves* Hi there. I'm the Slacker Queen of Depressing Ryumako AUs. Nice to meet you, or if you're someone I know, nice seeing you here again.**

**Welp. Madoka Magica AU as prompted by princessryumako on tumblr. Ah well, hope you enjoyed.**

_**Slacker, 6/13/14**_


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